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Exercise Obangame Express 2018 Starts

Exercise Obangame Express 2018, which is sponsored by U.S. Africa Command, is designed to improve regional cooperation, maritime domain awareness, information-sharing practices, and tactical interdiction expertise to enhance the collective capabilities of Gulf of Guinea and West African nations to counter sea-based illicit activity.

OE18, now in its eighth year, is one of three U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa-facilitated regional exercises. The exercise is part of a comprehensive strategy by U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet and Africom to provide collaborative opportunities amongst African forces and international partners that addresses maritime security concerns.

“It must be recognized that, in many respects, African states have taken the lead in pushing the importance of maritime security toward the top of the international agenda, forcing us to consider the ramifications of action, or inaction, in the maritime domain. African leadership in this area reflects a profound change both in how the world understands and defines security,” said Air Force Brig. Gen. Mark Camerer, director of logistics for Africom. “The maritime domain serves as the crossroad of national, regional and global interests. Be it security, economic or environmental interests, the maritime domain connects us all,” he added.

Exercise

The exercise will last eight days, with a two-phase at-sea portion that will encompass a regional framework and then transition to an emphasis on national patrols. Throughout, the maritime operations center will exercise information sharing practices.

OE18 will be conducted in multiple areas at sea and ashore. At-sea operations will be conducted throughout the Gulf of Guinea. The largest footprint ashore for OE18 will be in Libreville, Gabon. Numerous maritime operations centers will be participating from ashore across the Gulf of Guinea and West Africa along with several international organization maritime operations centers.

“The exercise provides an excellent arena to show the necessity of interagency cooperation for governments to accomplish a larger mission,” said Randall Meridith, deputy chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Libreville, Gabon.

OE18’s Accra, Ghana, site kicked off with a tabletop exercise. A team comprised of U.S. sailors and Marines worked together with Ghanaian officials on scenarios at the maritime operations center in Accra. This part of the exercise is designed to help build relationships between the many different agencies used to help secure the Gulf of Guinea.

“Our Navy and Marine Corps team is here executing a tabletop exercise with various Ghanaian security services during exercise Obangame Express 2018. The exercise is designed to create an informal and friendly atmosphere. This environment fosters a rewarding experience with candid dialogue and open two-way communication. This tabletop exercise is part of a Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa and Naval Forces Africa initiative, Maritime Operations Center-Ground Force Integration. The MOC-GFI concept focuses on African partner defense forces and interagency communication and coordination procedures in response to threats that span across the land, sea, and air domains,” said Marine Corps Master Sgt. Brian Ross, the Africa foreign area staff noncommissioned officer for Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa.

The U.S. will provide multiple training teams and controllers operating in African partner nations and aboard partner vessels.

The USS Mount Whitney, the command ship for U.S. 6th Fleet, will participate in the exercise and could be used for a wide variety of scenarios, to include at-sea ship boarding and queries, air operations, communication drills, and regional information sharing.

“Exercise Obangame Express 2018 is off to a good start,” said Royal Canadian Navy Cmdr. Peter Koch.

“Communications tools have been checked, command and working relationships established, tactics practiced, and ships and other assets fueled and stored. Everyone is as ready as possible for operations that will commence tomorrow,” Koch added.